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Sunday, 29 April 2012

An Evening with Raymond Blanc

I may not have posted many recipes in the last week, but
there’s actually a very good reason that doesn’t just revolve around exam
revision! On Friday 20th of April, I took my Dad to Oxford
Playhouse for “An evening with Raymond Blanc.” Raymond Blanc is by far my Dad’s favourite chef, and he has
visited Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons a few time now, most recently for his and my Mum’s 25th
Wedding anniversary. The idea was that Raymond would talk for 45 mins and then
there would be 30mins or so of a question and answer session. On the way there
Dad was getting together all the questions he wanted to ask.

When we arrived and Raymond came on stage it soon became
clear we might not stick to “schedule”. Raymond is a natural born story teller
and as he told us the story of how he got to where he is today we were all sat
in awe. I still can’t believe that he is completely self-taught! He
says his passion for food came from his mother’s kitchen, and I am beginning to
wonder whether she should have had a Michelin star under her belt if she taught
him a lot of what he knows! Now, I won’t rehash the stories he told of his life to date
but there are a few points I want to focus on, which have partly contributed to
my lack of posts.

One issue he discussed with a lot of passion was
seasonality. This has been something I have been thinking about for a long
time. I am yet to find a good reliable farmers market near where I live, so
often find myself picking up the same old vegetables on the supermarket shelf,
without considering where they’ve been grown and whether they are in season.
Having said this there are a few things I avoid like strawberries. So many
people complain about how much strawberries cost in winter, when it is a fact
that when they are season in the summer and there is a glut, the laws of supply
and demand will bring down their price! Buy seasonal, buy cheap!

Anyway, I digress! (Much like Raymond did...maybe I could be
a fantastic chef like him yet!) By cooking seasonally not only will our food
bills go down, but we will get better produce. Those fruit and vegetables
harvested in season will have so much more flavour purely because they have no
artificially been forced to grow! Why sacrifice on flavour and quality just
because you want to eat something out of season?

Of course it also means that we can combat global warming
and take care of the economy. If we aren’t importing fruit and vegetables from
hotter countries and instead eating what we can grow in England we will be
reducing carbon emissions! It seems clear therefore that eating seasonally is a win-win
situation, so why aren’t we?! As I’ve already said I’m yet to find a good farmers market
near enough to me to go to every week or so. Though I believe “Veg boxes” like
those offered by Riverford are an excellent alternative. And, if you can, why
not purely eat what you grow in your gaden/allotment! We have a long way to go
yet before we can provide for all our vegetable needs, but this Easter for
example we have been eating our own purple sprouting broccoli – so much more
flavourful than the normal supermarket stuff.

Since listening to Raymond it is definitely now an aim of
mine to try and eat seasonally. I am thinking of trying to make some sort of
wall chart outlining what is in season and when. I think this will not only
provide benefits to my purse and to the planet, but that it will help me cook
more creatively, it will be an excellent chance to experiment. So please do
watch this space!

Another topic Raymond talked so passionately about was the
welfare of our meat, how it is reared, how it is killed, how it is packaged and
how we eat far too much! This is something I took feel very passionately about
and would rather eat no meat than eat cheap meat! Since trying to convince my
parents of this for years, Raymond’s talk really had an impact on my Dad and he
is now looking into sourcing his meat from the local butchers – which unfortunately
is not as local as it could be! I look forward to coming home in a few months if Dad sticks
to his word!

All in all Raymond’s talk was fantastic, very inspiring and
as a result I have been thinking more carefully about what I cook, and that
will in turn have an impact on what I post here! It won’t suddenly become
gourmet fancy food, but it will become more seasonal and probably even more
veggie friendly! If you get a chance to go to an evening with Raymond Blanc,
I highly recommend it! You never know, you may even get to meet him in person! (He
stayed behind after our show to sign his book and have a chat!) I am a lucky
girl...

About Me

I’m an aspiring lawyer who considers it a crime not to cook and eat great food.
Since graduating from The University of Nottingham, and starting the LPC at BPP Law School in Holborn, London I am cooking up a storm back in my parents’ kitchen in between sampling the best food in and around London.